Kittens in a tuffet
A few months ago I picked up this beautiful footstool at a vintage fair. I had intended to recover it before using it as the fabric is a little grubby and stained in places. But somehow many weeks have passed and it has stayed just as it was when I bought it. The fabrics are beautiful and much of the the stitching on it has been done by hand. The workmanship is naive and homely, which somehow makes me love it more.
It is a hotch-potch of different fabrics, but they're muted enough to blend in with the neutral colours in our home. And opening it is always a treat:
I think the only thing that will eventually prompt me to replace these lovely fabrics is that our cats are currently using them as a scratching post...although this may also be the very thing that makes me lose the will to recover it. How to stop the little beasts?
Short of keeping the cats inside the box to preserve the exterior and my sanity, do you have any tips for stopping them? I've tried scratching posts (which they ignore), as well as anti-scratch sprays (which I forget to respray every few days)...
Florence x
My cat hates the smell of oranges and lemons. Could you hide an orange pomander underneath the box?
ReplyDeleteI used wide see-through tape on our stairs (a little too late) and it stopped our cats further wrecking our carpet. I have to be honest, it doesn't look that great even if it does work!!
ReplyDeleteI confess that I have just been mean to ours to stop the wanton destruction - every time I catch them scratching the leg of our dining room table they get a spritz with a water spray-one of those plant ones. They kind of get the message after a bit, and though I feel terribly wicked doing it, I haven't had to in ages now!
ReplyDeleteDouble sided tape. The idea is it deters them, they go off the tuffet as a sratching place and then you remove it. Difficult though, upholstered things like this appear to be just what a cat wants in a scratching post
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the sticky tape - it attracts fluff and has to be replaced but it will do the job, I know!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried putting catnip where you WANT them to go? When I first got a cat tree, my cats wanted nothing to do with it, until I sprinkled some catnip all over it. Then I couldn't get them off of it. :) One cat actually went and laid right on the bag of catnip, claiming it for herself, and hissed when I tried to get her off it. :)
ReplyDeleteI've tried the water gun, scratch spray, and tape trying to save the front of my sofa from our cats (5). The tape worked the best until they realized that they could just move to the top where there wasn't any tape. So for us it's been a choice between, ugly couch, plastic cover, or toss the cats. We still have the cats, The toddler would have eventually ruined the sofa anyway! ;P
ReplyDeleteIt is lovely with the fabrics it's come covered with isn't it? Fortunately we don't have the problem with furniture used as a scratching post, because we have dogs. Your cat is absolutely beautiful by-the-way! Vanessa xxx
ReplyDeleteLovely original fabrics. Looks great. As to the cats! Afraid I still haven't found a solution to stopping ours scatching furniture. I have tried sprays, the sticky tape solution and so on but nothing works so now we have a shabby chic home! x
ReplyDeleteI have 2 cats and they scratch everything! It's a real pain! Your kitty is gorgeous! :o)
ReplyDeleteC x
No ideas about the cats - sorry - although the one in the photo is beautiful! Love the footstool though!
ReplyDeleteMy old cat had a huge problem with scratching furniture and I used everything I could to make her stop (spray bottle with water and lemon, shaking a can with coins in it, sticky tape), and she eventually did, but I don't know what did it lol
ReplyDeletei made sachets of orange or lemon peel mixed with lavender and hung these from the corners of our sofas where our cats like to scratch - worked like a charm.
ReplyDeleteDesperate after our 'furry son' fell in love with our wall paper.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that cats don't like the sound of foil.
Maybe a few strips where he normally scratches might put him off.
Anything sticky will do the trick. I use packing tape rolled into an inside out loop stuck to the favorite spot. Cats hate for their paws to be sticky!
ReplyDeleteThe only drawback is that it also attracts cat hair!!
A soda can with pennies in it every time they go near, or a spray bottle with a little lemon in it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOranges, lemons and double-sided sticky tape it is then - I didn't know of any of those. Thank you so much for all the advice.
ReplyDeletewhaha look at how evil that cat is looking ready to scratch a post :D
ReplyDeleteps,: iam having a new giveaway
http://janimie.blogspot.com/2011/07/100-followers-give-away.html
I used a combination of things when my cat used to attack the armchair. First, some strips of double sided sticky tape in the worst affected areas. Then I hung some little muslin bags at each corner of the chair, filled with fresh orange peel (cats hate lemons and oranges). This works better than lemon or orange oil because the peel still has all the pungent-ness (is that a word) in it. Then, I kept a water spray bottle beside me in the front room to spray him whenever he tried to scratch. It was turned to fine mist - one, so that it didn't soak my carpet but still coated the cat and two, because on that setting it also makes a rather satisfying hissing noise!
ReplyDeleteIt took about a week for all those things to sink in and he's never scratched it since in 9 years! Also, I find cats actually prefer coir door mats rather than scratching posts, might be worth providing your cats with one?
Double stick tape, lots of it. Aluminum foil works well, too. Looks mighty strange, but does work.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your cat might not mind the smell of citrus. I have two cats who will eat oranges and tangerines, and beg for a segment every time we peel one.
ReplyDeleteThe best idea I have found is to use catnip. rub catnip on the scratching posts and this should encourage them to them rather than the box! Catnip works with cats after they are about 6-8 months.
ReplyDeleteMy cat is 8 months and she LOVES it although it hasnt stopped her clawing the bottom of the sofa it certainly has distracted her away from it loads.
Plus if you put it where they sleep it makes them super happy just lounging more.
Naomi
The best idea I have is to use catnip. rub catnip on the scratching posts and this should encourage them to them rather than the box! Catnip works with cats after they are about 6-8 months.
ReplyDeleteMy cat is 8 months and she LOVES it although it hasnt stopped her clawing the bottom of the sofa it certainly has distracted her away from it loads.
Plus if you put it where they sleep it makes them super happy just lounging more.
Naomi
The best idea I have found is to use catnip. rub catnip on the scratching posts and this should encourage them to them rather than the box! Catnip works with cats after they are about 6-8 months.
ReplyDeleteMy cat is 8 months and she LOVES it although it hasnt stopped her clawing the bottom of the sofa it certainly has distracted her away from it loads.
Plus if you put it where they sleep it makes them super happy just lounging more.
Naomi